The Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 is a NASCAR Xfinity Series stock car race held at Pocono Raceway.
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| NASCAR Xfinity Series | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Pocono Raceway |
| Location | Long Pond, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Corporate sponsor | Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau[1] |
| First race | 2016 |
| Distance | 225 miles (362.102 km) |
| Laps | 90 Stages 1/2: 20 each Final stage: 50 |
| Previous names | Pocono Green 250 (2016–2017) Pocono Green 250 Recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons (2018–2019) Pocono Green 225 Recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons (2020–2021) |
| Most wins (driver) | Cole Custer (2) |
| Most wins (team) | Stewart-Haas Racing (3) |
| Most wins (manufacturer) | Ford (5) |
History
editThe inaugural Xfinity Series race at Pocono was held on June 4, 2016 with a scheduled distance of 100 laps/250 miles (402.336 kilometres).[2] However, the race was shortened after only 53 laps/132.5 miles (213.238 kilometres) because of persistent rain showers. The race marked the first time NASCAR's second-tier series visited and raced in the state of Pennsylvania since the closure of Nazareth Speedway in 2004.[3] The second running of the event was the first NASCAR-sanctioned event at Pocono to use the stage format, a format that was created prior to the 2017 NASCAR season for all three divisions for all race tracks; the 100 laps were split into three stages, with the first two being 25 laps each and the last consisting of the final 50.[4]
In 2020, the distance was reduced to 225 miles and 90 laps—with the first two stage lengths being reduced to 20 laps—as the race was held on Sunday in support of the NASCAR Cup Series' second round of a Pocono doubleheader.[5][6]
In 2022, the race was moved from June to July and the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau, which was previously the title sponsor of one of the track's Cup Series races, replaced J.P. Mascaro & Sons as the title sponsor of the race. Like they did with the Cup Series race name, the PMVB replaced their own name in the name of the race with "Explore the Pocono Mountains".[1]
Past winners
edit| Year | Date | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Race Distance | Race Time | Average speed (mph) |
Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laps | Miles | |||||||||
| 2016 | June 4 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 53* | 132.5 (213.238) | 1:07:08 | 118.421 | [7] |
| 2017 | June 10 | 22 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 100 | 250 (402.336) | 1:50:38 | 135.583 | [8] |
| 2018 | June 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 100 | 250 (402.336) | 1:57:59 | 127.137 | [9] |
| 2019 | June 1 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 103* | 257.5 (414.406) | 2:09:30 | 115.760 | [10] |
| 2020 | June 28 | 98 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 91* | 227.5 (366.125) | 2:05:44 | 108.563 | [11] |
| 2021 | June 27 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 90 | 225 (362.101) | 1:54:53 | 117.511 | [12] |
| 2022 | July 23 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | 225 (362.101) | 1:49:22 | 123.438 | [13] |
| 2023 | July 22 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 92* | 230 (370.147) | 1:52:16 | 122.922 | [14] |
| 2024 | July 13 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart–Haas Racing | Ford | 90 | 225 (362.101) | 2:08:26 | 105.113 | [15] |
- 2016: Race shortened due to rain.[7]
- 2019, 2020 & 2023: Races extended due to NASCAR overtime.[10][11]
Multiple winners (drivers)
edit| # Wins | Driver | Years Won |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Cole Custer | 2019, 2024 |
Multiple winners (teams)
edit| # Wins | Team | Years Won |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Stewart-Haas Racing | 2019, 2020, 2024 |
| 2 | Team Penske | 2017, 2021 |
Manufacturer wins
edit| # Wins | Make | Years Won |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 2017, 2019–2021, 2024 | |
| 3 | 2016, 2022, 2023 | |
| 1 | 2018 |
References
edit- ^ a b "Pocono Xfinity Race Named Explore the Pocono Mountains 225". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. June 23, 2022.
- ^ "Pocono Raceway adds Xfinity race for '16". NASCAR. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. September 29, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
- ^ "Xfinity Series Coming To Pocono In 2016". Performance Racing Industry. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
- ^ "Stage lengths for 2019 NASCAR season". NASCAR. April 10, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
- ^ "Stage lengths for the 2020 NASCAR season". NASCAR. February 7, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
- ^ "2020 weekend to feature four NASCAR races in two days". Pocono Raceway. April 3, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- ^ a b "2016 Pocono Green 250". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
- ^ "2017 Pocono Green 250". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
- ^ "2018 Pocono Green 250". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
- ^ a b "2019 Pocono Green 250". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
- ^ a b "2020 Pocono Green 225". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
- ^ "2021 Pocono Green 225". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
- ^ "2022 Explore the Pocono Mountains 225". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
- ^ "2023 Explore the Pocono Mountains 225". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
- ^ "2024 Explore the Pocono Mountains 225". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
External links
edit- Pocono Raceway race results at Racing-Reference